Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'DIY anarchist'

This thesis describes and analyses the politics of the Australian DIY anarcha-punk scene and the ethos of the culture's participants. Eschewing the orthodox sub-cultural approach which situates 'punk' within a structuralist hegemony / resistance paradigm, the thesis uses participant observation and textual analysis techniques to understand the role played by zines (hand made publications) in fostering the intellectual and ethical capacities needed to participate in the Australian DIY anarcha-punk scene. The zines, in their deviation from classical anarchism, often invoke concepts of power and 'the political' analogous with those of poststructuralist theory, yet DIY anarchist politics also diverge from poststructuralism. I therefore address DIY anarchist politics by questioning the significance of these inconsistencies with Theory. In doing so I am led to suggest that the zines may be more usefully approached as elements in the ethico-political practice of DIY anarchism, which nonetheless draws on the 'conceptual vocabulary' of much poststructuralism, as well as other theoretical approaches. Thus I re-describe DIY anarchism as an ethos which seeks to argue for its agendas and values on non-foundational terms. Further, I demonstrate that by pursuing an ethos of 'autonomy', the culture's participants seek to develop their intellectual and ethical capacities through a self-consciously 'developmental' engagement of power relationships, in the form of DIY 'prefiguration' or exemplification. Following the preoccupation with gender politics in the zines and the wider scenes, I describe the approach to gender politics in similarly ethico-political terms, drawing likewise on various elements of poststructuralist and other theories. I show this feminist ethical practice to be based on assumptions about gender which embody a certain poststructuralist approach to 'gender', one that is predicated on the material effects of a discursively congealed gender structure, but forms part of an ethos aiming to deconstruct this structure. By re-describing the political approaches of these zines in reference to various theoretical perspectives and ethico-political practices, I am able to offer perspectives to the culture in question, as well as to the interdisciplinary academic context within which I am writing.

This thesis describes and analyses the politics of the Australian DIY anarcha-punk scene and the ethos of the culture's participants. Eschewing the orthodox sub-cultural approach which situates 'punk' within a structuralist hegemony / resistance paradigm, the thesis uses participant observation and textual analysis techniques to understand the role played by zines (hand made publications) in fostering the intellectual and ethical capacities needed to participate in the Australian DIY anarcha-punk scene. The zines, in their deviation from classical anarchism, often invoke concepts of power and 'the political' analogous with those of poststructuralist theory, yet DIY anarchist politics also diverge from poststructuralism. I therefore address DIY anarchist politics by questioning the significance of these inconsistencies with Theory. In doing so I am led to suggest that the zines may be more usefully approached as elements in the ethico-political practice of DIY anarchism, which nonetheless draws on the 'conceptual vocabulary' of much poststructuralism, as well as other theoretical approaches. Thus I re-describe DIY anarchism as an ethos which seeks to argue for its agendas and values on non-foundational terms. Further, I demonstrate that by pursuing an ethos of 'autonomy', the culture's participants seek to develop their intellectual and ethical capacities through a self-consciously 'developmental' engagement of power relationships, in the form of DIY 'prefiguration' or exemplification. Following the preoccupation with gender politics in the zines and the wider scenes, I describe the approach to gender politics in similarly ethico-political terms, drawing likewise on various elements of poststructuralist and other theories. I show this feminist ethical practice to be based on assumptions about gender which embody a certain poststructuralist approach to 'gender', one that is predicated on the material effects of a discursively congealed gender structure, but forms part of an ethos aiming to deconstruct this structure. By re-describing the political approaches of these zines in reference to various theoretical perspectives and ethico-political practices, I am able to offer perspectives to the culture in question, as well as to the interdisciplinary academic context within which I am writing.
Thesis (Masters)
Master of Philosophy (MPhil)
School of Arts, Media and Culture
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This thesis explores the relationships between punk and anarchism in the contemporary contexts of the UK, Poland, and Indonesia from an insider punk and anarchist perspective. New primary ethnographic information forms the bulk of the research, drawing on Grounded Theory Method and an engagement with Orientalism. The theoretical framework is informed by the concept of antinomy which embraces complication and contradiction and rather than attempt to smooth-out complexities, impose a simplified narrative, or construct a fanciful dialectic, the thesis examines the numerous tensions that emerge in order to critique the relationships between punk and anarchism. A key tension which runs throughout the PhD is the dismissal of punk by some anarchists. This is often couched in terms of lifestylist versus workerist anarchism, with punk being denigrated in association with the former. The case studies bring out this tension, but also significantly complicate it, and the final chapter analyses this issue in more detail to argue that punk engages with a wide spectrum of anarchisms, and that the lifestylist / workerist dichotomy is anyway false. The case studies themselves focus on themes such as anti-fascism, food sovereignty/animal rights activism, politicisation, feminism, squatting, religion, and repression. New empirical information, garnered through numerous interviews and extensive participant observation in the UK, Poland, and Indonesia, informs the thick description of the case study contexts. The theory and analysis emerge from this data, and the voice of the punks themselves is given primacy here.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2009.
Title from electronic title page (viewed Jun. 26, 2009). "... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Anthropology." Discipline: Anthropology; Department/School: Anthropology.

Anarchism is a political and socioeconomic force that has driven violent methods of social and political change for centuries. Relating Anarchism to these violent acts demonstrates a deep-seeded link to terrorism. Anarchism is one of the main forces behind modern day terrorism due to its long history alongside the ever evolving term terrorism. By connecting these two concepts, domestic terror groups can be better analyzed and understood, and future attacks from within the United States may be prevented.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study comprises a philosophical investigation into the development of a non-representational resistance against the State, with specific focus on the role of the imagination in both repression and the struggle for freedom. Using Deleuze & Guattari’s non-representasional ontology, the researcher argues that Deleuze and Guattari’s ontological system can be described as an ontological anarchy, which supplies us with tactics of resistance that strongly deviates from traditional Representational or Revolutionary models of resistance. Building on a discussion of Situationism and Hakim Bey’s T.A.Z, the argument is made that these non-representasional resistive tactics could ‘open’ the category of art up to a whole network of creative and life practices – a transformation that has the ability to free art as well as the everyday. In stead of refecting back on a supposed ‘background’ Reality, this resistance relies on the ontologically anarchic practice of reality production. The idea of the non-ordinary or peak experience, assosiated with sorcery, plays a crucial role in this production process, and the argument is made for the use the of these experiences to create a lasting peak experience, ultimately constituting a shared level of peak intensity between people that the researcher calls ‘the revolution of the imagination’. Key words: ontology, anarchy, anarchism, the State, resistance, revolution, imagination, complexity, ontology of art, poststructuralism, Representation, non-representationality, peak experience, sorcery, the everyday, Situationism, psychogeography, geophilosopy, phenomenology.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie is ʼn filosofiese ondersoek na die ontwikkeling van ʼn nie-representasionele weerstand teen die Staat, met besondere klem op die rol van die verbeelding in die onderdrukking van, sowél as die stryd om vryheid. Deur middel van Deleuze & Guattari se nie-representasionele ontologie word daar tussen Representasie, wat met die Staat as komplekse en gesamentlik geproduseerde sosiale konfigurasie verband hou, en nie-representasionaliteit, wat met anargisme saamhang, onderskei. Die navorser voer aan dat Deleuze & Guattari se ontologiese sisteem as ʼn ontologiese anargie beskryf kan word wat ons van weerstandstaktieke voorsien wat sterk van tradisionele Representasionele of Rewolusionêre weerstandsmodelle afwyk. Na aanleiding van ʼn bespreking van Situasionisme en Hakim Bey se T.A.Z word daar betoog dat hierdie nie-representasionele weerstandstaktieke, die kategorie van kuns kan ‘oopmaak’ tot ʼn hele netwerk van ander kreatiewe en lewenspraktyke – ʼn transformasie wat terselfdertyd kuns én die alledaagse kan bevry. In plaas daarvan om terug te kaats op ʼn veronderstelde ‘agtergrond’- Werklikheid, gaan dié stryd om die ontologies anargiese praktyk van werklikheidsproduksie. Die idee van nie-gewone ervaring, of die spitservaring, wat met towery geassosieer word, speel ʼn sentrale rol in hierdie produksie, en daar word aangevoer dat dit gebruik kan word om van álle ervarings ʼn verlengde spitservaring te maak – ʼn gedeelde vlak van intensiteit onder mense wat die navorser ‘die rewolusie van die verbeelding’ noem. Trefwoorde: ontologie, anargie, anargisme, die Staat, weerstand, rewolusie, verbeelding, kompleksiteit, ontologie van kuns, poststrukturalisme, Representasie, nie-representasionaliteit, spitservaring, towery, die alledaagse, Situasionisme, psigogeografie, geofilosofie, fenomenologie.

The politics of the act is an important part of radical politics as it seeks to disrupt and challenge the status quo. I define the politics of the act as a mode of politics that involves a withdrawal from the state, mobilises around non-hierarchical organising structures and is animated by an imperative of enactment. This can be contrasted with a politics of demand, which is state-oriented, hierarchical in nature and looks to educate the movement for enactment. While Marxists have tended to privilege the politics of demand as the route to radical change, anarchists have favoured the politics of the act, thus creating a clear opposition between these two different ways of acting politically. In this thesis I will argue that this dichotomy between a politics of demand and a politics of the act is overemphasized, and using Deleuze I will show that a politics of the act is the ontological and creative basis through which the politics of demand comes into being, and the politics of demand is enacted by capturing certain flows of creativity into recognisable ‘moments’ that allows them to be made visible and understood at a societal level. Thus, these modes of politics, although they have meaningful differences, are not distinct from each other but rather flow into each other. In IR, conceptualisations of social movements practising a politics of demand have overshadowed the politics of the act, although anarchists have recognised its importance. This thesis will build on this work by drawing on Deleuzian concepts to deepen our understanding of the politics of the act both conceptually and empirically and contributing to the development of a postanarchist politics. It will examine six case studies of activities that are valorised as exemplifying the politics of the act: withdrawal from the state by Food Not Bombs and Social Centres; horizontal organising structures of Critical Mass and Indy Media Centres; and an imperative of enactment through guerrilla gardening and the Clown Army. This thesis challenges those conceptualisations of politics that privilege either the politics of demand or the politics of the act, and demonstrates that both are needed in any conceptualisation of radical politics. It concludes by offering a way of conceptualising both modes of politics through a ‘politics of the molecular’.

Cette thèse analyse les modalités historiques et littéraires de l'engagement des écrivains anarchistes, en France, dans les années 1880-1900. La fin du siècle est marquée par la rencontre, non exempte de malentendus mais extrêmement féconde, entre théoriciens anarchistes s'intéressant à l'art, et écrivains engagés "dans la mêlée sociale". Les débats autour du rôle social de l'écrivain dans les petites revues sont accompagnés de réalisations littéraires nombreuses et variées. Les écrivains anarchistes, tout en dénonçant les "représentations" (politiques, économiques ou historiques), signalent le danger d'une littérature à thèse qui pourrait se révéler aliénante pour les lecteurs. Le corpus est constitué de plus de soixante auteurs (militants ou littérateurs, connus ou oubliés) qui, à la fin du siècle, tentent de propager l'idée libertaire au moyen d'oeuvres de fiction : ils ont tenté de vivre l'"utopie" d'une littérature engagée et non dogmatique - une question toujours d'actualité.

Le discours anarchiste sur les femmes, de 1880 à 1914, est d'abord analysé avec trois théoriciens : Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, Max Stirner et Michel Bakounine. Deux événements historiques influencent aussi les libertaires : le mouvement nihiliste russe et la Commune de Paris. Ils s'inscrivent alors entre tradition et protection envers les femmes. Ils développent un discours sur les rôles et la place des femmes au sein de la cellule familiale en s'appuyant sur un mythe du matriarcat et en produisant notamment une propagande néo-malthusienne. Les libertaires amorcent aussi une réflexion contradictoire sur l'amour libre, comme l'illustrent les milieux libres et plusieurs couples. Les relations entre le féminisme et l'anarchisme sont enfin étudiées. Deux tendances anarchistes se dégagent : le féminisme libertaire et l'anarcha-féminisme, qu'illustrent Louise Michel, importante figure du mouvement libertaire, et Gabrielle Petit, militante féministe et révolutionnaire
Anarchist discourse about women, from 1880 to 1914, is first analysed with three theorists : Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, Max Stirner and Michel Bakounine. Two historical events also influenced the libertarians : the Russian nihilist movement and Paris Commune. They therefore place themselves somewhere between tradition and the protection of women. They develop a discourse on the role and place of women in the family unit based on a matriarchal myth and in particular producing neo-Malthusian propaganda. The libertarians also initiate contradictory thinking on free love, as illustrated by communities and several couples. Finally, the relationship between feminism and anarchy are studied. Two anarchistic tendencies stand out : libertarian feminism and anarcho-feminism, illustrated by Louis Michel, important figure of the libertarian movement, and Gabrielle Petit, feminist militant and revolutionary

Ausgehend von der sog. "Fiedler-Debatte" des Jahres 1968, eine jener Auseinandersetzungen über Formen und Inhalte, Aufgaben und Möglichkeiten von Literatur, Kunst und deren Kritik, wie sie im Umkreis des Annus mirabilis so häufig wie heftig geführt worden sind, unternimmt diese Arbeit auf rund 340 Seiten den Versuch, mit (nicht nur) diskursanalytischen Methoden das in der "Chiffre 1968" besonders virulent gewordene Spannungsverhältnis zwischen Kunst, Literatur und Ästhetik auf der einen und den vielfältigen Politisierungstendenzen auf anderen Seite mikrologisch auf-zuschreiben und mit Blick auf eine ganze Reihe verschiedener Bezugspunkte und -ebenen zu erklären (z.B. bezüglich genereller Kunst- und Ästhetikvorstellungen innerhalb der (Neuen) Linken, hinsichtlich der Aufarbeitung der deutschen NS-Vergangenheit, der Auseinandersetzung mit Antiamerikanismus usw.) Dabei rücken nicht nur die vielfältigen, nicht selten geradezu antagonistisch auftretenden "deutschen" Revolte-Ansätze "um '68", sondern auch Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede zu zeitgleichen Tendenzen und Debatten in den USA in den Fokus. Die umfangreiche Analyse der ebenso vielen wie vielschichtigen Ebenen der "Chiffre 1968" zeigt, dass von einem "1968"oder "den 68ern" nirgends Rede sein kann.

ABSTRACT This project seeks to clarify the complex interrelation of utopia and nostalgia in post World War II German literature, as the nineteen sixties student protest movement develops into what has become known as the 'New Subjectivity' of the nineteen seventies. The introductory chapter frames the historical context of this development, problematizing the idea of '1968' as its climax or turning point, while establishing the interrelationship of the concepts of utopia and nostalgia as the principal methodological and interpretative foil for the literary readings that follow. In three subsequent chapters I propose close readings of this theme in Peter Schneider's Lenz (1973), Hans Magnus Enzensberger's Der kurze Sommer der Anarchie (1972), and Berward Vesper's Die Reise (1977). These, I argue, texts demonstrate a trajectory of utopian thinking toward nostalgic reflection that exposes a dialectical tension between utopia and nostalgia. Through their literary texts as well as their essays in one another's periodical publications, such as the Voltaire Flugschriften and Kursbuch, the three authors address this tension as a common experience of the transitional period between the sixties student protest movement and the dawn of the 'New Subjectivity' of the seventies. I read Lenz as road narrative that mobilizes the metaphor of the road as the locus of the utopia-nostalgia dynamic; the road is a transitional space that embodies the uncertainty of the post-revolutionary moment when reflective nostalgia seems to replace the disillusioned utopia. Der kurze Sommer der Anarchie engages the literary discourses of utopia and nostalgia via the documentary form, after its pre-1968
Résumé Ce travail se propose de clarifier l'interrelation complexe entre utopie et nostalgie dans la littérature allemande d'après-guerre, lorsque le mouvement estudiantin de protestation des années soixante se transmue en ce qu'on nommera la 'nouvelle subjectivité' des années soixante-dix. Notre introduction reconstruit le contexte historique de ce développement, contestant la notion que '1968' en constitue le sommet ou la péripétie, et présente l'interrelation des concepts d'utopie et de nostalgie comme cadre à la fois méthodologique et interprétatif des lectures littéraires qui suivent. Au cours des trois chapitres suivants, nous proposons des lectures détaillées de ce thème chez Peter Schneider (Lenz, 1973), Hans Magnus Enzensberger (Der kurze Sommer der Anarchie, 1972) et Bernward Vesper (Die Reise, 1977). Ces trois textes dessinent une trajectoire de la pensée utopiste vers une réflexion nostalgique, exposant ainsi la tension dialectique entre utopie et nostalgie. A travers leur production littéraire ainsi que les essais publiés dans leurs revues respectives, telles Voltaire Flugschriften et Kursbuch, les trois auteurs en question traitent et thématisent cette tension en tant qu'expérience collective de la période transitoire entre le mouvement contestataire des années soixante et l'aube de la 'nouvelle subjectivité' des années soixante-dix. Nous proposons d'abord une lecture de Lenz en termes de récit de la 'grande route' (road narrative), mobilisant la métaphore de la route comme lieu de la dynamique utopie-nostalgie ; la route est un espace transitoire incarnant l'incertitude de la période postrévolutionnaire où la réflexion n

The thesis is focused on the DIY principle that can be a catalyst for collectives and individuals aiming to emancipate (consciously or unconsciously) from individualization and commodification that is symptomatic for today's society. This principle is adopted by various subcultures, but I am focused particularly on the hardcore-punk subculture (or precisely said - counterculture), which ideology is based on the idea of non-consumer society emancipated from values, norms and rules, that are being introduced to us by the mainstream society and its power structures. The analytical part of the thesis is focused on particular individuals and collectives, their activities, motivation, as well as the internal functioning of collectives. A combination of methods of qualitative research, especially participant observation and semi- structured interviews, were used for data collection. Data was analyzed using open coding. The collectives show better ability to resist commodification based on long-term practices commonly used in hc-punk to resist to the process of individualization. Their ability to create communities and collective activities is limited. Key words individualization, commodification, hardcore-punk subculture, diy principle, colectives, anarchism

Ausgehend von der sog. "Fiedler-Debatte" des Jahres 1968, eine jener Auseinandersetzungen über Formen und Inhalte, Aufgaben und Möglichkeiten von Literatur, Kunst und deren Kritik, wie sie im Umkreis des Annus mirabilis so häufig wie heftig geführt worden sind, unternimmt diese Arbeit auf rund 340 Seiten den Versuch, mit (nicht nur) diskursanalytischen Methoden das in der "Chiffre 1968" besonders virulent gewordene Spannungsverhältnis zwischen Kunst, Literatur und Ästhetik auf der einen und den vielfältigen Politisierungstendenzen auf anderen Seite mikrologisch auf-zuschreiben und mit Blick auf eine ganze Reihe verschiedener Bezugspunkte und -ebenen zu erklären (z.B. bezüglich genereller Kunst- und Ästhetikvorstellungen innerhalb der (Neuen) Linken, hinsichtlich der Aufarbeitung der deutschen NS-Vergangenheit, der Auseinandersetzung mit Antiamerikanismus usw.) Dabei rücken nicht nur die vielfältigen, nicht selten geradezu antagonistisch auftretenden "deutschen" Revolte-Ansätze "um ''68", sondern auch Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede zu zeitgleichen Tendenzen und Debatten in den USA in den Fokus. Die umfangreiche Analyse der ebenso vielen wie vielschichtigen Ebenen der "Chiffre 1968" zeigt, dass von einem "1968"oder "den 68ern" nirgends Rede sein kann.